Bendata to Spearhead Worldwide Customer Services Business for Ixchange Technology Holdings.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Co.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 17, 1998--

New partnership to help solidify Bendata's leadership position in customer support service management industry

Bendata, Inc. (Bendata) today announced a partnership with Ixchange Technology Holdings, Ltd. (JS:XCH) that will strengthen Bendata's position as a market leader in the help-desk and customer support services industry worldwide. Ixchange Technology Holdings Ltd., a South African software and marketing company, has signed an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Bendata Inc. from Astea International (Nasdaq:ATEA), subject to certain closing conditions. Astea will receive more than $43 million dollars in cash and secured debt from Ixchange, while Ixchange will initially invest a further $9 million in Bendata. The closing is expected to take place near the end of August 1998.

The benefits of the deal include access to increased funding and complimentary technology for Bendata. The expanded resources will be used for expanded product development, as well as for new sales and marketing initiatives. Upon closing of the transaction, Bendata will operate as an independent business unit providing the best-value software solution for customer support services. Bendata will continue to target mid-range implementations within small to large organizations. Currently Bendata customers include 25% of Fortune 100 companies. In addition, Bendata will immediately assume direction of all customer-support-services software initiatives for Ixchange globally, operating from Bendata's existing offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Bendata's existing line of products and services, including its flagship software, HEAT (Helpdesk Expert Automation Tool) continues to experience strong growth worldwide. Ixchange's leading edge CTI and Internet technologies may be leveraged in future versions of Bendata's HEAT and Support Management Signature Series product lines. The customer-driven approach that has defined Bendata continues to thrive under Bendata's current management team, staff and development and customer services resources, all of which will remain unaffected by the acquisition. The HEAT product-line will remain entirely intact, and will be the platform for all future releases.

"We are thrilled with the new agreement," said Vance Brown, president and CEO of Bendata, Inc. "We are coming off of a record sales performance at the end of our second quarter, and the third quarter looks strong. We have a major product release scheduled for the end of the year that will raise the bar significantly within our market space. Ixchange provides Bendata with a strong capital resource and access to important technology and development resources for future growth and development," he continued. "The future looks very bright indeed."

"The Gartner Group recognizes Bendata as one of only three vendors who are leaders in this market place based on their vision and ability to execute. Bendata's leadership position has been key in attracting Ixchange" said Dana Buys, Chairman of Ixchange. Buys added that Ixchange saw a great deal of synergy in terms of market vision, focus on the important Microsoft Windows NT platform and company cultures. "We believe that Ixchange is in a position to help Bendata realise its great potential. It is the most important acquisition we have done to date."

About Bendata

Bendata, Inc. is a leading supplier of customer support services software, recognized by independent authorities such as Gartner Group, Help Desk Institute (HDI) and Ovum as the industry leader in its field.

Founded in 1982, Bendata has established itself as a market leader for customer support services software utilizing client-server technology targeting mid-range implementations within small to large organizations. Bendata's flagship product, HEAT, commands a customer base in excess of 3,500 customers and has enjoyed excellent reviews for its out-of-the-box functionality, flexibility in customization, and strength in problem management. The company's web address is www.bendata.com.

Bendata's customers include: Mobil Oil, Arthur Anderson, Disney, EDS, Honda, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, U.S.Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines, GTE, BP Oil, Hilton International, Lloyds Bank, Caesar's Palace, ALLTEL, Northern Telecom, US West, Nations Bank, Delta Airlines, Allstate Life Insurance, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, John Deere, Ford Motor Company, McGraw-Hill, Coca-Cola, Chevron, EDS, Hitachi, Hewlett Packard, Bell Atlantic, Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Perot Systems, Motorola, Minolta, Mercedes-Benz, Warner Lambert, Loral Defense Systems, Barnes & Noble, Dean Witter, SmithKline Beecham, Raytheon, Boston Medical Center, Harvard, Notre Dame, Nike, Deloitte & Touche, Mercy Hospital, Weyerhaeuser, Unisys, Charles Schwab, Seagate Technologies and KPMG Peat Marwick.

Company Facts:

-- Bendata is one of only three customer support software vendors serving the mid-range market recognized as an industry leader by the Gartner Group based on vision and ability to execute. -- 25% of Fortune 100 companies use HEAT. -- HEAT has been chosen for CTI Magazine's 1997 Editor's Choice Platinum Award, and earned a 1998 Best Buy award from Network Solutions Magazine. -- Customer satisfaction amongst HEAT users is very high, a recent independent study found that 98% of HEAT customers would recommend Bendata's products to another buyer. In addition, over 90% of HEAT customers renew their annual maintenance agreement - this is 30% higher than the industry average.

About Ixchange Technology Holdings Ltd.

Ixchange Technology Holdings Ltd. develops and markets client/server and Internet based software solutions and provides related products and services. Ixchange consists of four operating divisions covering customers service management, supply chain management, Internet business applications and web and large-scale software development projects. The company primarily develops software for the fast growing Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft BackOffice systems platforms.

Ixchange's customers include most of South Africa's blue chip organizations. Ixchange recently completed an Internet based customer service and interaction business application for Microsoft Corporation which is used in the international support of companies providing service to Microsoft via the Internet.

Ixchange is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and has been one of the top five performers on the JSE during the past year.

The company headquarters is located in Johannesburg and offices are maintained in Cape Town and Denver, Colorado. Ixchange can be reached at ([phone] or via the World Wide Web at www.ixchange.com.)

Bendata is a subsidiary of Astea International Inc. and will remain so until the closing of the transaction described in this press release. This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect future results. Among these risk factors are that the sale of Bendata is conditioned on several factors and may not be consummated. Further information regarding these as well as other key risk factors and meaningful cautionary statements which could affect Astea's financial results are included at length in the Astea's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1997, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    CONTACT: Bendata, Inc.
              Lon Hendrickson, 719-532-7496
              [e-mail]
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              Clarke & Company
              Leigh Nixon or Emily Dunham, 617-536-3003
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